Get your family tangled in this exciting new Disney movie. Tangled is an other comical Disney movie based off of the classic story of Rapunzel.
In this twist, Mandy Moore voices an emotional Rapunzel who ends up trapped in a tower by her conniving stepmother. Along comes Flynn Rider, voiced by Zachary Levi, a charming young man who wants to save the princess from the tower, but gets held hostage by Rapunzel.
The movie Tangled is coming out this holiday season
Their adventure begins when the princess escapes the tower using her hair. They battle the bad guys with their trusty animal side kicks. Rapunzel is full of boundless energy and is guilt-wielded from leaving the tower. But she must do this to be with the one she loves.
If you are a Disney fan, this a must-see for your family. With the beautiful art work and the extensive animation, this is another Disney success.
Many critics voted this movie three stars out of four. The theatrical grounded songs in Tangled are similar to the music in the heartwarming movie Beauty and the Beast.
The movie untangles its self to theaters November 23, 2010.
The movie will be shown at both the Regal Manor 16 and the new Penn Cinema.
It’s the beginning of the end. The end of Harry, that is.
The lines were long, but these fans thought that it was worth it.
On Thursday night, thousands – perhaps millions – of Harry Potter fans waited in line to see the penultimate installment of the Harry Potter series – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
“Everyone laughs and cries together, like a big family,” said Taylor Breidenbaugh, a Penn Manor senior who came as Bellatrix Lestrange.
The excitement for this movie was palpable.
According to MovieTickets.com, Deathly Hallows was the fourth biggest advance ticket generator in history.
The teaser clips and official poster arrived early in October, and most of the fan sites – like the Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet – had widgets counting down till the release date.
Lancaster’s Regal Manor 16 theater was no exception.
When fans arrived at 10:30 that fateful night to see the midnight showing, they were astonished to see a line starting at one of the theaters and stretching around the corner. And around another corner. And another, until finally halting at the very rear of the building – theater 12.
Every so often, employees set up the movie equivalent of snack cart – complete with popcorn, soda, and candy, so fans wouldn’t have to step out of line to procure their favorite treats.
There were easily three hundred people in that line, and the number kept growing. According to an employee, three separate theaters had been sold out.
Most of these people were normal, average, everyday muggles out for a movie. There were some, however, that were most definitely not the kind of people you would expect to see out of Diagon Alley.
The Golden Snitch runs from her pursuer - a Seeker.
There were Harrys and Rons, Hermiones (complete with Time Turners) and Quidditch players.
The most common type of getup was simply a cashmere gray sweater over a white button down dress shirt, complete with a different color tie depending upon the house and bottoms – pants for men, skirts for ladies.
There were also wizard supporters sporting homemade t-shirts, like “Horcrux Finders Quidditch Team” and “Team Draco.”
Some fans took it to the next level, and had some crazy, creative costumes – like a golden snitch or Harry’s Patronus. Others chose characters like Dolores Umbridge, Bellatrix, Luna, or Tonks.
Once the managers started directing people into the theaters at 10:45 p.m, the fun really began.
It was one of those you-had-to-be-there moments: the girl dressed as the Golden Snitch jumped up, and saw a man sporting a broom and a homemade Quidditch (any witch or wizard’s favorite sport, a cross between rugby and soccer – oh, and it’s played on a broom) uniform. Their eyes locked. Then she took off, weaving between the aisles and leaping down stairs, trying to elude the Quidditch player who had jumped after her. The whole room erupted in cheers, almost everyone with a smile or look of pure joy on their faces, and when he finally caught the Golden Snitch, the applause and laughter would have scared any Dementor away. And this was at 11:00 p.m..
Sophomore Sarah Whyler came to the show dressed as Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley's little sister.
A Dobby (dressed in a pillowcase) circulated through the crowd, receiving more than one cheer.
Regal occasionally changes up the sequence that appears on the screen that tells fans where the refreshments are and to be courteous to the other movie goers.
This time the fan was taken through a roller coaster ride on the screen, which sped through signs telling movie goers to silence their cells phones and looped in corkscrew like paths.
What did a third of the theater do? Raised their arms just as if they were riding a real roller coaster, and waved their arms whenever they went around a turn, ooh-ing and ah-ing at the appropriate moments.
And of the movie itself?
“I thought it was great. It stuck to the storyline pretty well and had the right amount of seriousness and comic relief,” said sophomore Cate Shipley, who came dressed as Gryffindor Lavender Brown.
“It followed the book pretty well. They did a good job, as always, at really capturing so much emotion. It is more mature than the other stories but still has fun parts. I really enjoyed being at the midnight premier because everyone is so excited and into it,” said Breidenbaugh.
Film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie a three out of four star rating, and Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 78 percent. However, ninety percent of the Rotten Tomatoes audience section gave it thumbs up, with the average rating being 4.4 out of five.
Fox News gave the movie 2.5 stars, saying “This seventh film in the series (Part 2 will be released next summer) is a drag: Too little happens – and then when it does kick into gear, it stops: ‘To be continued.”
Dobby - or Brendan Kincade - came to watch the midnight showing.
Then the review goes on to say, “As for the story, well, why bother trying to explain it at this point? If you haven’t been following along, there’s no catching up. It would be like trying to explain “Lost” to someone who missed the first two seasons and wants to start with the third.”
According to MSNBC, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 earned $24 million at the midnight showing – and that’s just the domestic sales.
Over the opening weekend, the movie accrued $330.1 million worldwide – the most out of any movie in the series.
All of the seven movies so far have made $5.5 billion worldwide.
“When we started ‘Harry Potter,’ basically, the audience was driven to theaters by their parents. Today, those same kids are driving to the midnight shows themselves,” said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Brothers.
The MPAA gave Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows a rating of PG-13, for intense action violence, frightening imagery, and brief sensuality. Common Sense Media, a website that helps parents decide whether a movie or television program is age appropriate or not, gave the movie a 12+ rating – and four out of five stars.
“I thought it was a great movie! It followed to book really well with the right amount of action and funniness, and cut parts that really didn’t need to be in it out. I can’t wait till July when the second part comes out,” said Andrew Glick.
The theaters were packed with Harry Potter fans.
As one of the final scenes played out – and the significant character event that readers of the series will remember occurred – one could hear sniffles and sobs around you.
The fans were mourning – mourning the characters that they have loved and lost, the stories they grew up with, and the adventure that has to come to a final end.
The comedy by Mark Twain is playing on November 19 and 20 starting at 7:30 in the Penn Manor High School auditorium.
The play “Is he dead?” is about an artist who is deep in debt to a usurer, which is another name for a loan-shark. The artist is unable to sell his artwork so he and his friends come up with a plan to fake his death in order to drive up the price value of his paintings. The play covers the entire scheme and all the crazy complications.
The lead role is played by senior Cody Goldberg, who plays a male and female role in the play.
Cody Goldberg
“I have a lot of respect for Cody, doing this,” said Melissa Mintzer, assistant director of the play. “I give him a lot of props for learning all of those lines and costumes.”
Crews have been working three hours a day, four days a week, since the second week of school.
The cast is made up of 15 students, there are 25 crew members and 4 adults.
The director of the play is Carol Shellenberger, a retired English teacher at Penn Manor. Assistant director is Melissa Mintzer, Tech director is Mark Dennis, and Rebecca Cotich is in charge of costumes.
How do you speak an English line with a French or German accent, when you were born and raised in America?
“Students will have to try and speak in a different accent when, maybe, they have never even studied that language before,” said Mintzer.
Mark Twain is one of the best humorous play writers that ever lived, so the school has much anticipation.
The play is roughly 2-2 1/2 hours long and is brand new, it has never been done before.
“We hope to inspire other schools to do the play in their high schools,” said Mintzer.
The play is extremely funny and the characters have to do crazy, abnormal things.
But the worst part is that, for some reason, not as many people are coming out to the shows that should.
“My least favorite part is trying to get more people to support and come see the shows,” said Mintzer. “They are always extremely good but people don’t always know that.”
This year’s play is going to be a fun and humorous one that everyone will enjoy.
An epidemic has swept some of Penn Manor’s students: 12:01 disease.
Call of Duty features many lifelike war scenes.
Common symptoms of this terrible affliction? Coming down with a sudden illness at 12:01 a.m. – just the time when a new video game comes out. In most cases, the student will be advised to stay home from school the next day – and, in some severe cases, the student in question won’t be seen for the next week.
What could possibly be the cause of this terrible disease? Call of Duty: Black Ops, that’s what. The newest in the Call of Duty (or COD, as it’s commonly called by the players) series from the developer, Treyarch. The preceding game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, broke all records for the first 24 hours of its release.
According to MaximumPC, Modern Warfare 2 sold 4.7 million units in the first 24 hours in stores, the biggest release in video games ever – stealing the title from Grand Theft Auto IV. And those numbers are just in the U.S.- raking in $310 million just in that first day.
Black Ops is another record breaking game. A statement from Activision said that Call of Duty: Black Ops sold 5.6 million units and $360 million in that first day.
Many stores that sell video games had midnight release parties, where the line started early in the night and stretched out of the stores.
Penn Manor is home to students who were some of those lined up late on Monday night at video game retailers like Game Stop at the Park City mall in Lancaster.
“I’ve been awake for 27, no, 36 hours,” said one Penn Manor sophomore, “The game is awesome.”
Call of Duty's Black Ops game has realistic battle scenes. Photo courtesy of the Kansas City Star
Call of Duty is a First Person Shooter – or FPS – where players go through various historical scenarios. Call of Duty has been commended for its attention to historical accuracy and twisting plot. The only part of Black Ops that isn’t historically accurate is you.
Another part of the COD experience is a game called Zombies – or Nazi Zombies, as it is known in its previous title. It is a survival game where two people playing alone or up to four people online try to defend an area from the raging horde of zombies shuffling their way toward the building. The goal is survival, but all players must fall in the end to the walking dead as more and more zombies come at them, faster and faster. Players get points for zombie kills, and can spend the points on better weapons and barricades on the doors and windows. But Black Ops puts a new twist on the playable characters.
*SPOILER ALERT* Before, the player was a nameless soldier in a lonely shack, but now the action gets a whole lot weirder. The playable characters now include John F. Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon, and Robert McNamara, who are fighting zombies at the Pentagon. As the players kill zombies, the characters will spew sound bites from famous interviews and speeches.
“That is so cool!” exclaimed one student.
Several changes have been made concerning game play in Black Ops – like the elimination of Deathstreaks and the dreaded Nuke – whenever a player gets 25 kills in a row in Modern Warfare 2, they can get the use of a tactical missile to wreak havoc upon their enemies. Another perk for kill streaks is a remote controlled car, which players can pilot near enemies and pull a trigger, detonating the car.
Call of Duty: Black Ops is set in the Cold War era, and spans many different locales.
Other, smaller changes include the moving of shotguns from a secondary weapon to a primary weapon.
Another new area is Combat Training, where new players can practice their skills against computer controlled enemies in a format similar to online gameplay, to ease newbies into the online experience.
Before, new players would be forced to run headlong into online games, where they would be shellacked by the older, more experienced players.
“I’m so excited for this game. I would get it, but I just got the new Fable, and I’ll be too busy playing it for the next month to play COD,” said another student.
Nerds and geeks alike will rejoice, for Black Ops also contains a hidden Easter egg that not all players could spot. Following the instructions in the main menu found here: Wired.com, players can turn the main menu into an old text based computer. Type in the command “DOA”, and the screen turns into a top down zombie shooter. Type in “Zork”, and the computer turns into the text based adventure game Zork, a classic choose your own adventure game. You’ll also receive the achievement “Eaten by a Grue”, which will only make sense after you’ve played the game.
Call of Duty: Black Ops has made a splash in the pool of Penn Manor’s gamers, but the best is yet to come. Modern Warfare 3 is slated to arrive in 2011, and who knows what that will bring.
Tyler Perry’s movie rendition of “For Colored Girls” is a star-packed drama that is far from his usual string of comedies. The story is based on twenty people, each of whom represents a character in every one of the twenty poems throughout the movie. The poems represent struggles colored woman in particular have to face on a day-to-day basis.
Photo credited to cdn.sparkart.net
Kimberly Elise, Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Thandie Newton, Anika Nonie Rose, Kerry Washington, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Whoopie Goldberg, Macy Gray, Michael Ealy, Omari Hardwick, Richard Lawson, Hill Harper, Khalil Khan, Rayna Tharani, Jaycee Williams, and Thomas Jessup are just some of the characters who portray stories of rape, murder, promiscuity, and physical/verbal abuse.
The 2 hr and 14 min. movie has its sure of heart stopping moments and doesn’t let up on the dramatic experiences that happen throughout. “For Colored Girls” was originally a screenplay by Ntozake Shange turned Broadway play in the 70’s. The full name of the play was “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” is directed towards young woman of color who face the same problems in real life.
The movie sheds a light on many different problems and constantly sends the same message Shange made in her play.
There’s a feeling in the air, and it’s not Halloween spirit.
It’s Harry Potter.
“I’m so excited!” said Carolyn Zimmerman, of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I Nov. 19 movie release date.
The Harry Potter series spans seven books.
First released in 1997, the Harry Potter book series has since skyrocketed across seven books and dozens of languages, becoming one of the world’s most popular book series.
The author, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, has gone from a single mother on welfare to the first author in history to make a billion dollars. The series has captivated millions and now is coming to its final end.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in the summer of 2007, ending the journey of the boy wizard and the magical school.
Now the release date of the second to last movie approaches, and Penn Manor’s fans of the series are making their plans to pay homage to their favorite characters.
“Harry Potter has a way of sucking you into the books. It almost feels as if you can relate to the characters to some point, and most kids have grown up with the books. I think the books will be around for awhile, I just can’t see them becoming unpopular anytime soon,” said sophomore Cate Shipley.
And it hasn’t since Deathly Hallows was released. Even though the books are over, the fans still take Harry’s journey with them.
First, there’s the Youtube sensation A Very Potter Musical, which as of October 28 had 2,754,300 views. A Very Potter Musical, or AVPM, first appeared on July 5, 2009, and since then has gained a remarkable following in the Harry Potter fandom. It spans two acts, and follows Harry Potter (Darren Criss) as he tries to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort (played by Joe Walker) with some hilarious lines and dangerously catchy tunes in between. It was so popular that the cast (mostly made up of students) found the need to make the follow up to their hit – A Very Potter Sequel. The link to the first act of AVPM can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmwM_AKeMCk
“AVPM/AVPS is something that anyone can find hilarious even if they are not a big Harry Potter fan. It has humor for everyone and it’s impossible not to like it,” said Zimmerman.
Darren Criss, who plays Harry Potter in the AVPM and AVPS musicals, also will be making an appearance in the show Glee in November.
AVPM isn’t the only outlet fans have had to express their love of Harry Potter. According to the Harrypotterfanfiction.com, they have a library of over 65,000 individual stories and receive over 30 million hits every month.
HP has even crossed the gap into music. Wizard Rock, or Wrock, is a genre full of bands whose songs are only Harry Potter-related. The first band known to have songs with lyrics that reference Harry Potter is Switchblade Kittens, who has a song entitled “Ode to Harry.”
But the band usually credited with being the “first” Wrock band are Harry and the Potters, the most well known and probably most successful Wrockers.
Other bands include The Whomping Willow, Tonks and the Aurors, The Draco Malfoys, The Mollywobbles, Remus and the Lupins and the Severus Snaped.
The second to last of the Potter movies- and the beginning of the end for the official merchandise and the wait for movies- is titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. It will be released into theaters Nov. 19, 2010. Part 2 will come out July 15, 2011 – during summer vacation.
The two movies are being split – for those fans who are in the know – after Harry, Ron and Hermione arrive at Shell Cottage.
Harry Potter has impacted the lives of millions of children, and has been lauded as the series that has helped child literacy come back into focus.
The author of the series, J.K. Rowling, had published two books earlier in the series: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, both of which had the proceeds go to the nonprofit Comic Relief. After the seventh book was released, she also hand wrote seven copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and sold one of them at auction. The final selling price was $3.98 million, and all of it went to The Children’s Voice charity campaign.
Along with the numerous charities that Harry Potter books have benefited, they also have impacted the lives of some of Penn Manor’s students.
“When you read Harry Potter, it takes you somewhere new and gives you a break from reality,” said sophomore Kael Miller. “I love reading in general but Harry Potter just takes it a step farther. It becomes an obsession. I find myself quoting Harry Potter all the time, for various subjects. Harry Potter will always be part of my childhood that I remember.”
Some of Penn Manor's students can't wait to see the next movie.
“Harry potter is so fascinating because it takes you out of your world and into another for a brief time,” added Sarah Whyler. “It’s also so easy to imagine a picture while you’re reading, which I love about the books.”
“It is what made me fall in love with fantasy books. My group of friends is obsessed,” said Eleni Jones, “Its something you can read to get away from your world and sort of hop into another -where magic is real and anything can happen.”
It’s the beginning of the end of a journey, one that the fans have lived through as much as the Boy Who Lived himself.
Former Penn Manor student, Jill Wiley, was bitten by the performing bug at the young age of 8, but has now turned her talents into a serious career.
She is commonly known around the halls of Penn Manor High School for being “Miss Pennsylvania,” but people also know her for starring roles in shows here at Penn Manor.
Both musically and theatrically talented, Jill has been a very busy girl, managing school, a job, and her musical and theatrical talents.
Senior Jill Wiley chose to do cyber school for her last year of highschool. Photo credit to Ibbie Howard
It all started when she auditioned for her first show at the Dutch Apple Diner Theater. After auditioning, she was told that she was not going to be in the show.
“I was mad, upset and was going to give up,” said Wiley. “I was telling myself, ‘I hate theater, it’s stupid. I give up!’ But a week later I received a phone call saying that I got the role because another girl dropped out. So I did the show,” said Wiley.
When she was young, Jill only did shows in the winter and summer, which quickley led to her performing on a more frequent basis.
“Many a times i would be in rehersal during the day for one show, while performing in the evening for another,” said Wiley.
“I performed in various areas such as Ephrata, Hershey, Harrisburg and Lancaster,” said Wiley.
With age comes experience.
“When I was 13, I was put in the national tour for ‘Beauty and the Beast’ for an ensemble (chorus). At that point, I realized with the adult actors and their positive influences that this was what I wanted to pursue,” said Wiley.
Wiley explained how she has been in over 30 musicals and 18 plays in both equity and non-equity houses or theaters. She also went to New York for musical theater intensive training.
Jill poses as Sharpay in HSM2. Photo by Andy Babin
“When I was 16, going into my sophomore year of high school, I had my first Broadway audition for ‘Spring Awakening,’ ‘Bye Bye Birdy,’ and ’13’ the musical. From there I had call backs.”
“I’d like to say that the Fulton Opera House is like my second home.Throughout the years, I have had the opportunity to perform in several past productions,” Wiley said.
Wiley’s most recent and upcoming musical is ‘The Sound of Music’ by Rodgers & Hammerstein, opening at the Fulton Opera House on December 2. There will be a total of 37 performances.
“I am part of the ensemble as well as the Liesel understudy. I think the role of an understudy can be filled with excitement, and at the same time very nerve racking,” said Wiley.
In January Jill may be going to Florida to continue the show at the Maltz-Jupiter Theater.
“My call back audition for the show was the day before Penn Manor started their first day of school, August 30th. I chose to do cyber school for my senior year,” Wiley explained. “I wanted to take the risk because this show was the opportunity of a lifetime. Putting that on your resume is a big deal. Had I gone to Penn Manor, I would have had to miss out on the show, and other opportunities to travel and audition elsewhere.”
Melissa Telesco, a music teacher here at Penn Manor High School, has worked with Wiley in musicals, chorus, piano and when Wiley performed for Manor Singers.
“I would dare to say in the 10 years that I have been teaching, Jill is by far the most talented student I’ve taught. She has the complete package. She can sing, dance, and she demands stage presence,” said Telesco.
“For our show ‘Curtains’ last year, she came and asked me for a background role to be the choreographer,” added Telesco. “It’s impressive that she stepped back out of the limelight to challenge herself.”
She explained how cyber school allows her the freedom to come and go as she pleases.
“Obviously school comes first, but my schedule is so much more flexible to do those film and TV promos, meeting with possible agents and things like that,” said Wiley. “On Mondays and Thursdays I have dance and Tuesdays I have voice lessons that I’ve had since I was ten.”
Wiley said other people have an inaccurate opinion about musical theater.
“A lot of people have the misconception that performing in the music theater is just a hobby, and for some it is. However, for those who wish to pursue it as a career, your training and preparations have to start two years before you would even think about performing because it is that demanding and cutthroat of a business,” she said. “You can’t just wake up one morning of your senior year of high school and say ‘Oh, I want to go into musical theater and perform on Broadway.’
“It takes many years of hard work to handle both the physical and mental demands of being a performer,” said Wiley.
“In the world of performing in live theater, there’s nothing like it,” she said, “It takes a certain type of person to be willing to fail, and then be able to run with a full force when a moment presents itself for success.”
As guests walked in they were met with the smell of hamburgers, the sound of old 50s music and chorus members in poodle skirts and leather jackets.
On Friday, Oct., 22, the Manor Singers and Chorus had their infamous Hop fundraiser. Doors opened at 6:30 and soon all the seats were filled.
“This is our third year doing the hop, and every year it’s been successful,” said Jenna Spayd.
“The first year we had it at Manor Middle and it was a little crazy, but this year we have everything down. Third time’s a charm,” said Adam Swift.
Bethany Napier dressed as a 50s girl Photo By: Whitney Reno
For the first half an hour Penn Manor’s own band, Man Hunt, played 50’s music for the guests to enjoy while they were mingling and looking at the donated raffle items.
Some students swing danced for entertainment.
Then it was time to dig into the burgers, fries and milkshakes, donated by John Herr’s and Turkey Hill.
Students sold tickets for $25 each, and the money went into their own chorus accounts and is used for things such as the trip to Hawaii for the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor or chorus sweatshirts.
Tickets went fast for this well known event.
“We didn’t really do a whole lot of advertising because it’s so well known,” said chorus member Sam Hershey. “But some people didn’t know it was going on, until they saw us in our costumes.”
Hershey wore her costume to school in support of the hop.
Some students decided to keep the money they raised, but some students decided to help out a friend.
Swift sold five tickets, and decided to give his money to a friend who is going to Hawaii.
Hershey sold ten tickets and is going to use some of the money for herself, and give the rest away to someone going to Hawaii.
The general feedback from guest is always positive.
“Everyone loves it so much. Some sing, and they always like the food,” said Choral Director Melissa Telesco.
Starbucks Coffee in Seattle, Washington is testing a new idea of adding beer and wine to their menu along with bar food to catch the eyes of the evening crowd and some in Penn Manor hope it will catch on and come to this area.
Over 70 percent of their customers come before 2 p.m. ordering what they love most, coffee. Starbucks tried to get more service by giving out coupons to get half off or a free coffee in the afternoon, but didn’t succeed.
By adding a bar menu with alcoholic drinks, Starbucks Coffee hopes to increase the flow of customers in the scarce hours and expand their brand.
Professor Elizabeth Sterns from the University of Washington Business School said, “If you look at how well entrenched Starbucks is in terms of coffee, I think it might take a while for people to realize it’s a great place to go after work.”
Starbucks shows off their new liquor license. Photo by google images
This location in particular has revamped their store to make people feel more like they’re in a neighborhood cafe. They don’t want people to think Starbucks when they step foot in the door.
The alcoholic beverages will only be served after 4 p.m. for those who want to get their first taste of what it feels like to drink alcohol in Starbucks.
Senior project manager Major Cohen said that they will serve a half dozen kinds of beer and wine ranging in prices from $4 to $7 per glass.
“We’ll be equally as proud of our beer and wine as we are of our coffee,” said Cohen.
But don’t get your hopes up, only one Starbucks location has this to offer.
Starbucks tries out beer and wine. Photo courtesy of Google images
If this idea pays off and is a success, Starbucks may expand their concept to other locations.
According to Ron Paul, president of Technomic, a restaurant consulting firm, selling alcohol is clearly their attempt to one up McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts. “But if I were sitting in Seattle, I’d go after the evening snack and dessert business, not alcoholic beverages.”
Views at Penn Manor from students were all for this idea.
“It’s really stupid, but it will totally work,” said Jesse Graham, a senior at Penn Manor.
“It’s a great idea for people that want to drink beer in a relaxed environment and enjoy themselves instead of in a bar,” said Jaq Presbery, a senior at Penn Manor.
Penn Manor science teacher Erick Dutchess thinks it will be good for Starbucks in the long run.
On the Today Show, one lady who would like to remain anonymous had opposing views, “Coffee and tea, that’s it. I don’t want to sit down in a coffee shop and drink a glass of wine, I just don’t.”
What new idea will Starbucks come up with next time?
One decision in sixth grade made a huge impact on a Penn Manor student’s life forever.
In elementary school Spencer Barnett, now 17, picked up a bass guitar and didn’t want to put it down.
Spencer Barnett at Purple Door music festival. Photo by Kyle Hallett
Six years later he is a member of the new up-and-coming band, Ace Augustine, a local Christian-based hardcore band.
Even though band members are still in high school, they are close to being signed by a national record label.
“We are now in progress of signing with the record label Strike First,” said Barnett.
Strike First is owned by the company Facedown. If Ace Augustine does well, they may be moved up to Facedown’s label as soon as next year.
Facedown currently represents nationally known bands such as In the Midst of Lions and A Plea for Purging, who came from Strike First before going to Facedown. The label is also representing For Today, a band that recently came here to Lancaster and had a nearly sold out show.
Ace Augustine band members have been playing together since 2008. Not only have they become better friends and had a lot of great experiences, they have also honed their talents and abilities.
“It’s really sweet to listen to their music on my iPod and on the computer and think, wow, someone from my school is playing this,” said 16-year old sophomore, Aaron Lugo, “they are such a good band, let alone a high school band.”
Besides Barnett (bass guitar), the band consists of Tyler Chadwick (lead guitar and back up vocals), Ben Moser (lead vocalist), Doug Fellenbaum (drums) and Brian Fellenbaum (guitar).
Barnett was asked to join the band by Chadwick in the spring of his freshman year. Since that day, Ace Augustine has only gotten better and stronger as a group.
“At this point Spencer is still Spencer, but he is emerging into a super-star,” said Penn Manor senior, Josh Carle. “My favorite song by Ace Augustine is the song, We’re Running Out of ‘Toime’ (time).”
“We started off messing around, now we play shows every week with over 100 fans at every show. I never thought I would be in a band this popular,” said Barnett, “we are getting a lot of recognition because there have been bands from Lancaster that have become very big such as August Burns Red and Texas In July.”
Their fans agree.
“I have been to a few shows. I think they have good connection and their stage presence was impressive,” said Jeremy Vital.
Vital has two favorite songs, Senior Year at Sky City, and For Every Peek There’s a Valley.
Ace Augustine Audio Sample
Ace Augustine at Purple Door. Photo by Kyle Hallett
Ace Augustine signed up for a battle of the bands concert in 2009. The grand prize was being named the opening act at the Christian music festival Purple Door. They ended up winning the votes from the fans and judges, taking them to their first big show at Purple Door. They were asked to come back this year and perform again.
“This was our second year at Purple Door and it was truly an amazing experience as always,” said Barnett, “we made some great friends and had a great turnout.”
Ace Augustine had been on a few small tours with known bands Inhale Exhale, Abaccabb, and For Today. They also opened for bands such as August Burns Red, Texas is July, Otep, Oh Sleeper and Sky Eats Airplane.
“I heard about Ace from one of my friends and they are gnarly,” said Matt Gross, a sophomore at Penn Manor. He also said he will be buying their next CD and going to the next local show.
In the fall of 2009, Ace Augustine had their first EP CD released. The EP was called Glory of Trumpets. They recorded this album at Century Studios in Lancaster, PA. The band is now working on their first full length CD which will be titled The Absolute (to be released this fall). This album is currently being recorded at Highland Audio in Reading, PA.
“I’m doing this because it is something I am passionate about and because it’s a once in a lifetime experience,” said Barnett.
Ace Augustine will be going on their first national tour this summer. For now, they can only do weekend shows while school is in session.
